Black Friday Blues

Ralph: New figures released Today confirmed that consumers, who had been sitting on their wallets for months , pulled out the cash for another “Black Friday Extravaganza”, giving the nation’s retailers a much-needed spike in sales.

But unfortunately that wasn’t the case for Betty McBride who is the owner of the Berean Bookstore in Butternut Pennsylvania. Betty, who was quite optimistic before the doors to the Butternut Mall opened…quickly had a change of heart when the crowds stormed right past her store…completely ignoring her One of a Kind Manger Scene.
Betty McBride: I don’t really know what happened. I mean we did everything we could do to draw attention our door busting sales event but none of it seemed to work.

Betty McBride: We hired a high priced marketing team to come up with a catchy slogan and some advertisements to try and attract attention but none of it really seemed to work. We scheduled a full staff of employees and even hired a homeless guy to dress up as a bible and stand outside our store…But we really didn’t get the results we were hoping for.

Ralph: When asked if there was any noticeable difference in the numbers of customers on Black Friday, compared to a normal day at the Berean Bookstore Betty said…

Betty McBride: Our numbers were pretty much just like any other day. I guess the only real difference is that a few people came in asking to use our bathrooms. They said some of their friends had told them our bathroom was the nicest one in the whole mall. The complement was nice, I guess…But it would’ve been nice if they would’ve at least made it seem like they were interested in our store.

Ralph: When asked why she thought the sale at her store didn’t add up to the hype surrounding Black Friday, Betty’s only logical answer was…

Betty McBride: I guess Christmas really isn’t much of a Christian Holiday anymore. It’s sad to see, but times are changing, and the need for Christian things around this time of year just isn’t what it used to be. I mean seriously, how can we compete with an 85 inch T.V. for $350.00? That’s what WALMART was selling. We just can’t offer people anything like that. If our neon manger scene didn’t draw us a crowd, then I’m afraid nothing ever will.

Ralph: Reporting from Butternut Pennsylvania…This is Ralph Ronchetti…God Talk Radio, News.